The Imminent Impact of Aging: Why is Geriatric Medicine Being Neglected? (AI Translation)
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- China's geriatric medicine has seen rapid growth, with the number of departments tripling in five years to nearly 6,000 by 2022. This expansion aligns with national efforts to address the healthcare needs of an aging population, which surpassed 300 million people by the end of 2023.
- Despite policy support and a significant increase in geriatric departments, challenges persist including insufficient integration into the broader healthcare system, lack of specialized training for healthcare professionals, and financial constraints due to current medical insurance policies.
- Future development strategies for geriatric medicine include improving service capacity, standardizing department setups, enhancing professional training, and encouraging societal participation in elderly care services to better meet the diverse health needs of China's aging population.
文｜财新周刊 许雯
By Caixin Weekly's Xu Wen
“我们是夕阳人群，朝阳事业。”这不只是老年医学——这门新兴学科从业者的自我调侃，也是过去五年老年医学科（简称“老年科”）“狂飙突进”的真实写照。
"We are the sunset crowd engaged in a sunrise industry." This is not just self-deprecating humor among practitioners of geriatric medicine—a burgeoning field—it also accurately captures the rapid advancements in the department of geriatrics (commonly referred to as "geriatrics") over the past five years.
最早脱胎于干部保健科的老年医学科，在近年迎来爆发式增长。截至2022年，全国有近6000家二级及以上综合性医院设有老年医学科，而在2018年，在所有医疗卫生机构中设有老年医学科的不过1519家。短短五年内，全国老年医学科数量增加了3倍。
The geriatric medicine department, which originally evolved from the cadre healthcare department, has experienced explosive growth in recent years. As of 2022, nearly 6,000 secondary and higher level general hospitals across the country have established geriatric medicine departments. In contrast, back in 2018, there were only 1,519 medical institutions with such departments. Within a mere five years, the number of geriatric medicine departments nationwide has tripled.
2024年3月5日，在国务院总理李强所作的政府工作报告中，“加快补齐老年医学服务短板”的提法受到关注。据国家卫健委提供的最新数据，截至2023年底，中国60岁及以上老年人口已突破3亿，占总人口比重超过20%，进入中度老龄化社会。中国老年人数量之多前所未有，由于人均寿命延长，老年周期也随之拉长。围绕老年健康需求，疾病预防和诊治、康复护理、长期照护、安宁疗护皆有短板待补。
On March 5, 2024, the phrase "accelerating the improvement of shortcomings in geriatric medical services" caught attention in the government work report delivered by Premier Li Qiang. According to the latest data provided by the National Health Commission, by the end of 2023, China's population aged 60 and above had surpassed 300 million, accounting for more than 20% of the total population, marking China's entry into a moderately aging society. The number of elderly people in China is unprecedented. Due to the extension of average life expectancy, the period of old age has also lengthened. In terms of health needs for the elderly, there are gaps to be filled in disease prevention and diagnosis, rehabilitation nursing, long-term care, and hospice care.
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